18 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

The Washington Post, 5/11/22

 

Union Station overhaul removes parking spaces, adds underground facility

 

  The proposed expansion of Union Station envisions a transformation of the nation’s second-largest rail hub by 2040

 

 

The Federal Railroad Administration has revised key aspects of the proposed redevelopment of Washington’s Union Station, eliminating a parking garage as part of the overhaul.

 

The revised plan for the multibillion-dollar expansion of the station eliminates a six-story garage, significantly reducing parking and relocating the parking area to a new underground facility that also would serve as a location for passenger pickups and drop-offs. The new details were unveiled at a recent meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission.

 

The changes also include a major reconfiguration of the station’s bus terminal to align with a new train hall, the Federal Railroad Administration confirmed this week.

 

The changes come more than a year after the FRA put its environmental review for the project on pause to amend the design, which was widely criticized as keeping the station too car-centric.  . . . 

 

 

Continue here.    

[CNJRoss]

WTOP-FM, Washington, DC 6/17/22

 

Renovation plans for DC’s Union Station unveiled

 

A rendering of a design for Union Station. (Courtesy U.S. Commission of Fine Arts)

 

A $10 billion plan to renovate Union Station in D.C. was unveiled this week.

 

In a presentation to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, the new union station could be finished by 2040 and would feature a lot of skylights and glass.

 

In addition to reconfiguring the space for trains, buses and Metro, the new design is supposed to improve the pickup and drop-off zones.

 

But one thing would be similar to the current look of the historic transportation hub — a large atrium with very high ceilings. 

 

SNIP  

 

You can watch a video of the plans for Union Station here.

 

 

Continue here.  

[CNJRoss]

WUSA-TV, Washington, DC 6/16/22

 

 

$10B Union Station renovation plan puts parking underground, nixes 6-story garage

 

The expansion of the rail hub aims to rectify a passenger experience described as 'not befitting of a central rail terminal in the nation’s capital.'

 

WASHINGTON — Union Station commuters could see a much more open, light-filled facility that aims to double ridership capacity and expand "clean, urban public transportation," according to plans released Thursday detailing the $10 billion transformation of "the nation's train station."­­

Immediate differences that passengers would notice include a renovated train hall, lofty and bright concourses with retail and restaurants, and refurbished entrances. Renderings show the historic station remaining intact, but with modern touches throughout the rest of the expansion.

The train hall also would provide improved ADA access. The station's bus depot would be revamped to align with the new train hall design.

The $10 billion Union Station expansion project is funded by a combination of public and private dollars.

 

Credit: U.S. DOT Federal Railroad Administration

 

Continue here with video report. 

[KevinKorell]

Comments:

 

1.  Has the look and feel of an airport terminal.

2.  Note how the trains come right up to the concourse.   And what appears to be faregates between the concourse and each platform.   This arrangement probably doesn't allow for Superliner trains (which currently is only the Capitol Limited) to service the main terminal.  Assumed that the Virginia tracks with the low platforms may someday be upgraded to conform to ADA standards, but they may become the only way Superliners and diesel-hauled trains can access the station.

3.  The outdoor rendering in the first photo above (post #12) doesn't show any homeless tents (although signs seen in May outlawed them effective June 1st) on the property.

4.  In this configuration, a Metropolitan Lounge on an upper floor (like New York's new Moynihan Hall) would work perfectly and allow direct and advance access for those in the lounge to go directly to their specific platform (like Philadelphia).

[CNJRoss]

Railway Age, 6/17/22

 

Washington Union Station Redevelopment Progressing

 

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The multi-billion-dollar Washington Union Station Expansion Project, intended to modernize and revitalize one of the most iconic and beautiful train stations in North America, took a step further on June 16 when Grimshaw Architects, the project’s architectural firm, gave a presentation to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), which reviews and approves design proposals for certain public and private properties in the nation’s capital.

 

The presentation included renderings of station tracks and platforms, a new train hall and mezzanine, and new entrances. Grimshaw Architects, according to National Public Radio affiliate WAMU 88.5 reporter Amanda Michelle Gomez, “stressed the importance of creating a bright and expansive space that is more accessible for visitors, by adding a new train hall that would connect people to all the different modes of transportation offered at the station, and new entrances so people can enter from different parts of the city, including the H Street Corridor.”

 

SNIP

 

This newest proposal was developed with public feedback, among whom are local government officials critical of an earlier proposal with a large parking garage. CFA officials “seemed to largely support the plan,” WAMU reported. “However, a few voiced reservations that the historic building would become just a passthrough to the new train hall.”

 

 

More here. 

[KevinKorell]

Washington, DC Post, 11/13/22:

 

 

  Union Station in line for $10 billion facelift, but questions remain      

 

 

Union Station is in line for its first major facelift in more than three decades, an investment that railroad and city officials say will help to move more passenger trains through the busy Northeast Corridor while modernizing a critical gateway to the nation’s capital.

 

Article

 

The transformation will not be completed until the year 2040.    So mark your calendars, and I'll see you all in 2041 for a Fest to explore the new station.

[CNJRoss]

The Washington Post, 5/13/23

 

Feds release updated $8.8 billion redevelopment plan for Union Station

 

The revised vision for the rail station includes less parking, an underground drop-off area, and integrated bus, pedestrian and bike access

 

 

The Federal Railroad Administration unveiled a revised concept late Friday for the redevelopment of Union Station, laying out a future transit hub with far less parking, pickup and drop-off traffic below ground, and more fully integrated access for pedestrians, bikes and buses.

 

The new plan comes two years after the federal agency paused its analysis of the project to amend key aspects that were widely criticized as keeping the station too car-centric. The District had opposed a multilevel parking garage featured in a vision released three years ago, while officials and residents demanded better access for foot and bike traffic.

 

 

 

Continue here with planned train hall rendering.

[CNJRoss]

Reason, 5/19/23

 

As Rail Riders Disappear, the Feds Want To Spend $8.8 Billion Expanding a Rail Station

 

The rail lines servicing Washington, D.C.'s Union Station are carrying as little as a quarter of their pre-pandemic ridership. Officials still want to triple the station's capacity.

 

If you built it, and they're not coming, should you keep building? For federal rail officials, the answer is yes.

 

This past week, the Federal Railroad Administration released a draft environmental study of the planned massive $8.8 billion redevelopment of Washington, D.C.'s Union Station, reported The Washington Post. The plan includes new train platforms, a bus terminal, shops, restaurants, and more to be built by 2040. Passenger capacity would be tripled.

 

SNIP

 

All of the commuter and intercity rail services that use Union Station are in deep, prolonged ridership depressions that appear to be outliving the pandemic's suppressive effects on other forms of social and economic activity.

 

Union Station is serviced by two regional commuter rail services, the Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) and the Virginia Railway Express (VRE), along with Amtrak and the local Metro rail service run by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).

 

 

More here.  

[KevinKorell]

Given how shopping malls seem to be a thing of the past, re-inventing Union Station with the intent of making it a place to shop is not a good idea.  Sure, the newstands, restaurants, and stores that sell things easily taken along in travel are needed, but bringing back places that have expensive clothing and jewelry seems pointless.   

 

The airport-like artist depictions in this thread above may be a little extreme, but I think it's adequate for the busier times, such as the weekend and holiday travel periods.  The current situation has very long lines blocking the main concourse -- yes, even now with ridership diminished from what it used to be.